Few Vehicle Accidents Reported

Road Crews Battle Snow Drifts, Ice

January 09, 1996|By A.J. PLUNKETT Daily Press

Peninsula motorists were surprisingly well-behaved Monday, either staying off the streets or staying out of serious trouble despite snow drifts and icy streets, state and local law enforcement officials say.

While there were a few dozen fender-benders, there were no deaths and few injuries, officials said.

Troopers reported 16- and 20-car pileups on the Southside, but the Peninsula had no such problems, said State Police spokeswoman Tammy Van Dame.

Virginia Department of Transportation crews were out in force Monday, trying to clear interstates and other highways and main roads throughout the Peninsula.

All 560 personnel assigned to clearing roads in southeast Virginia were called in to work in rotating 12-hour shifts, said Bill Cannell, VDOT spokesman.

Although VDOT officials said early Monday they probably would get only to primary roads - interstates and main highways such as Route 17 through York County and Gloucester - crews were able to start work on some secondary roads by early afternoon, Cannell said.

Crews were expected to continue working on secondary roads through today.

The main concern for Monday night and today was that roads, and especially bridges, would refreeze as temperatures dropped, Cannell said.

In such weather conditions, VDOT, State Police and local city officials were asking people to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary.

While noting that most motorists were courteous and gave VDOT equipment a wide berth, Cannell issued a reminder that motorists should not follow VDOT snow plows too closely. VDOT snow plows and dump trucks are prone to stopping often and without warning, he said.

``Obviously, when you have a collision between a typical car and one of our dump trucks, the dump truck's going to win,'' Cannell said.